Pamina is currently a Secretary General at the Italian South African Chamber of Trade and Industries and a B-BBEE SPECIALIST and supplier development strategist at Aurik, designing, implementating and reporting on effective Enterprise and Supplier Development programmes including funding for SME’s. Pamina is a Non-Executive Director at A4E (Accounting 4 Entrepreneurs) in Pretoria and Funder and MD at Valverde Eco Hotel, one of the top 10 wedding venues in Gauteng, South Africa. Pamina is a polyglot and speaks 7 languages and has lived in Italy, Russia, Spain, Austria and South Africa.

Aurora is a Spanish diplomat, lawyer and currently counselor at the Spanish Embassy in Pretoria. Former Head of Consular Section at the Embassy of Spain in Managua and Director of the Spanish Cultural Center in Nicaragua. Former Chief of Service of the Public Diplomacy division at the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Graduated and master’s degree from ESADE Business and Law School University and master’s degree at CTLS Georgetown Law.

Sandra Kramer arrived in Pretoria in August 2022 to take up her duties as the European Union’s Ambassador to South Africa after having been Africa Director at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Partnerships since June 2019.

Ambassador Kramer joined the European Commission in 1995 in the Directorate-General for External Relations. During this period she served as Trade Counsellor at the EU Delegation to Indonesia and as Head of Economic Co-operation at the EU Delegation to India.

Subsequently Ambassador Kramer was appointed assistant to the European Commission’s Chief Spokesperson and assistant to the Deputy Director-General in the Directorate-General for Enterprise & Industry. She was nominated to head the Communication Unit of DG Enterprise & Industry in 2007.

From 2010 to 2014, she was Head of Unit Programming, Evaluation and Communication at the Directorate-General for Justice before joining the Cabinet of President Juncker as Director of Coordination and Administration with key responsibilities on Budget and Human Resources.

Ambassador Kramer holds a Masters degree in Modern Literature from the University of Groningen, as well as a Masters degree in Economics and International Relations from Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies, Bologna and Washington DC.

Dr Ntombizodwa Mhangwani, is a Finance Executive at Nedbank; Chairperson of Nedbank Gender Equity Forum at Nedbank. Dr Ntombizodwa was a Director for Accenture Interactive & Women’s Forum Lead for Accenture in Africa and joined Accenture in 2015 as the Marketing and Communications Director. Dr Ntombi was also responsible for positioning Vodacom Business, its products, services & leadership. I also helps clients to deliver exponential and exceptional digital experiences for their customers. At Accenture, Ntombi was also tasked to drive initiatives to attain Accenture’s vision to achieve a 50/50 gender balanced workforce by 2025.

In May 2022, Ntombi was featured on the Break the Ceiling Touch The Sky 2022 List of Africa’s Most Inspirational Women in Leadership by House of Rose Professional. In July 2021, Accenture awarded her the Equality Champion accolade. In September 2020, she was recognised as the Gender Mainstreaming Awards’ third finalist in the inclusive leader category for Gauteng. In September 2019, she won the Gender Mainstreaming Awards’ Positive Role Model for C-Suite award.

Ntombi holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Management of Technology and Innovation with thesis titled: A leadership framework for implementing fundamental change during the fourth industrial revolution (4IR). She also holds a Master of Business Administration from Henley Business School, as well as an Honours Degree in Journalism and Media Studies from Rhodes University.

Caroline Nelson is the CEO and Country Manager for H&M South Africa, responsible for overall strategy, sales, people, operations, sustainability and expansion of the South African organisation. Nelson has worked with the H&M Group across varying roles in the United States while also supporting expansion into Central and South America and New Zealand. She is currently based in Cape Town where H&M's South African Head Office is based. Caroline is a highly experienced Learning and Development Executive with a Master's degree in Education from University of the Witwatersrand. Demonstrated history of working in both government administration and corporate education, experience serving on Executive Committees and Boards as well as Chairing Board Committee meetings. Skilled in Corporate Governance, Skills Development, the South African NQF (qualifications and professional designations), Work-based learning, Strategic Planning, Executive Management and Programme and Project Management.

Rachel is a currently the Country Head for Novartis South Afric a global healthcare company that provides solutions to address the evolving needs of patients worldwide. Rachel was previously responsible for commercial operations for Novartis Pharma in Vietnam, ensuring stability during a global pandemic and establishing a strategy that delivers a fast return to double digit growth in 2022 (17%) and market development for sustainable competitive advantage. Rachel is a highly motivated commercial leader with significant strategic and operational experience both in market and globally, with many years of experience in global pharmaceutical companies.

As head of the Nedbank Non-resident and Embassy Banking team, Elelwani Pandelani applies a combination of strong people skills, proven leadership abilities and keen business insights to lead her team in building strong relationships with clients and consistently exceeding their expectations.

Elelwani’s driven and ambitious personality is evident in her stellar rise through the ranks at Nedbank. After she started her career at Nedbank in 1998 as a helpdesk consultant, her talents and exceptional work ethic saw her progress rapidly through a variety of roles, which gave her extensive exposure to many aspects of banking, client service, and management – experience that she applies in her role today.

When Elelwani isn’t leading her team or getting involved in community upliftment projects, she's on the golf course, trying out new recipes in the kitchen, or feeding her travel bug by visiting local and international destinations.

Carike is currently the Country Manager of Soudal and a highly experienced Learning and Development Executive with a Master's degree in Education from University of the Witwatersrand. Demonstrated history of working in both government administration and corporate education, experience serving on Executive Committees and Boards as well as Chairing Board Committee meetings. Skilled in Corporate Governance, Skills Development, the South African NQF (qualifications and professional designations), Work-based learning, Strategic Planning, Executive Management and Programme and Project Management.

Veterinarian, entrepreneur and committed scientist in the field of wildlife conservation. After many years leading Wild Spirit, an international wildlife veterinary medicine training program in South Africa, Dr Quesada decided to take a further step forward for conservation by setting up Wild Spirit Fund, a non-profit organisation born in Africa led by an international network of wildlife professionals and veterinarians.

Rashmee is responsible for Investment Facilitation / Promotion at a division called Invest SA, which is the focal point for all foreign direct investment into the country. She is responsible for interacting and engaging with companies in advising on how to optimise their investments in the country. She sits on many task teams including being part of the team that was responsible for the Presidential Investment Conference. She also sits on the Industrial Financing adjudication committee (Technology for Human Resources and Industry Development, Automotive Investment Scheme and Strategic Partnership Programme).

She also has extensive knowledge and experience in the Industrial Financing Division as he was responsible for Strategic Partnerships and Customer Care and advised on the various incentives programmes offered by the dti and advised on implementation of the Black Economic Empowerment scorecard on the second phase of the development of the codes.

Rashmee also had private sector experience as the Head of Regulatory and External Affairs for Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa where she played an integral role in facilitating and leading the negotiation on the investment of the ranger in SA.

She holds a B Com Honours and has been trained by the World Bank on Investment Facilitation.

Managing Director of the Global Business Institute of Management & Leadership (GBIML) (Pty) Ltd, a strategic management consultancy that specializes in management and leadership strategic interventions. Previously she was the MD of IIBM and IBL as well as the Head of WorleyParsons RSA Learning & Development and Talent Management office. On the leadership consulting side she still managed and consulted for IBL Institute of a Business Leadership. Previously she held the post Director of Education and Learning at LinkLearn. She is a graduate of the University of South Africa (UNISA). She is versed in strategic marketing, acquired from working in the marketing field in South Africa for more than 25 years.

Nadia is currently the Chief Executive Officer at SAQA, and is a highly experienced Learning and Development Executive with a Master's degree in Education from University of the Witwatersrand. Demonstrated history of working in both government administration and corporate education, experience serving on Executive Committees and Boards as well as Chairing Board Committee meetings. Skilled in Corporate Governance, Skills Development, the South African NQF (qualifications and professional designations), Work-based learning, Strategic Planning, Executive Management and Programme and Project Management.